Life begins at 40 or so they say. But lately, it seems to me that life ends at 40.

I had a very memorable experience last week. Our office conducted a training on Mushroom Production at Malaybalay City. It was supposed to be for Agricultural Extension Workers of Bukidnon. But Lo and behold, a couple from a neighboring region arrived to attend the training. They told us that they have long been interested in attending a training on mushroom production and mushroom spawn making. They have been surfing the net and infact got in touch with some private trainors. Two experts offered to come to their place but would require quite an expense on the couple’s part.

I lost my cellphone the other day. It was stolen inside my bag while I was walking inside a crowded mall. I was unprepared for the feeling of being unconnected to the real world for even just a short time.

I love to attend Farmer Field School (FFS) graduations. It is a happy occasion full of talk, laughter and food. The learning sites were decorated with colorful “buntings”. The farmer-graduates seemed to have gotten a second lease of life. You see them talking, singing and interacting with each other. They are very proud to wear the T-shirt that we gave them proclaiming them FFS graduates. It differentiates them from the mere bystanders and onlookers. Talking with the graduates, we get firsthand their thoughts and feelings regarding the season-long training that they have just attended.

I recently attended a fun run which was organized by our church. The turn-out was really phenomenal, if not record breaking. This could be due to the fact that we are known for our unity but it could also be due to the fact that it is an "IN" thing. In fact after the week that we held our “Unity Run” as we called it, two big Fun Run events were again held in Cagayan de Oro. I think that a large part of the popularity lies on the growing health consciousness of the public.

Changing paradigms of Agricultural Extension implementers towards computerization, can well be likened to the idea of changing people’s perceptions (a few lifetimes and a hundred years ago), that the world is round and not flat as initially believed. You just need to keep on pushing the idea, until it sinks.